Priorities set, regional trails project ready to begin

This summer, Boulder County residents who enjoy being active will start to reap the rewards from a seven-year sales tax increase. In April, the Boulder County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a recommendation prioritizing 15 proposed Boulder County trails for improvements or new construction. Work on some trails already has begun.

In the November 2001 election, Boulder County residents approved a 1/10th of a cent sales tax to fund a seven-year Boulder County Transportation Improvement Program. The tax is expected to raise approximately $35 million, of which up to $4 million is earmarked for regional trail projects.

?(The new trails project) is going to be a huge step toward tying the county together,? said Scott Robson, alternative transportation coordinator, Boulder County Transportation Department. ?It’s not unprecedented, but it is rare to put this money together to fund such a project. It shows how important trails and getting outdoors are to the people who live here.?

Last year, the Boulder County commissioners formed a Boulder County Regional Trails Committee with representatives from Boulder County, Superior, Longmont, Lyons, Erie, Louisville, Boulder and Lafayette. The group generated a list of most needed regional trails and developed criteria to prioritize them.

Trail selection was based on three values, Robson said. One was its transportation value and whether the trail would be open to multiple types of users, ranging from bikes to pedestrians to strollers. They also examined the number of citizens it could serve, the number of citizens already using the adjoining trails, and whether it would significantly improve safety in the corridor.

Next, they investigated feasibility and looked at the proposed trail’s basic costs, its environmental impact, land ownership issues and topographic constraints, such as whether it would require multiple river crossings. Another consideration was a trail’s equitability and whether it would serve multiple jurisdictions.

After preparing a list of 15 possible trails, the committee then held a series of open houses in February, where approximately 150 citizens attended and provided input. Additionally, another 100 people showed their support for various trails with letters, Robson said.

At the Boulder County commissioners’ meeting in April, these trails were presented in categories as a first, second or third priority based on the committee’s criteria and public input. Of the 15 trails, 10 were adopted as priorities for the next seven years. The commissioners agreed that the third priority trails would be removed from consideration.

One of the five projects on the first priority list is a trail linking Niwot, Gunbarrel and Boulder. The plan is to connect and improve existing trails, with an emphasis on eliminating missing links between Jay Road and Highway 52. Due to its cost, a proposed Highway 52 underpass at 79th Street is listed as a separate, first priority project.

?The Gunbarrel, Niwot and Longmont connections are numerous and are in the planning process right now,? Robson said. ?Possible construction of some links may begin in 2004.?

Another first priority project is the Coal Creek/Rock Creek Trail, which has missing links in Erie, Lafayette, Louisville and Superior. Currently, the segment between Superior and Louisville is under construction and should open in June. Another portion of Coal Creek Trail, from Superior to the west, will be constructed this summer.

The other top priority trails are the Boulder Feeder Canal Trail, which runs 10 miles from Lyons to Boulder, and the nine-mile trail between Erie and Boulder on the Union Pacific rail line. Both are in need of further study before any construction can begin, said Robson, due to environmental and land-use considerations.

Projects designated as second priorities include an underpass on the Four-Mile Creek Trail; a new eight-mile trail along the St. Vrain Greenway from Lyons to E. County Line; an East Boulder Trail from Baseline Reservoir to Teller Farms; shoulder and intersection improvement on the Diagonal Highway from Longmont to Boulder; and a Callahan Property Trail. The Callahan Trail would begin at the intersection of Baseline Road and BNSF Railroad and run southwest through the Callahan property, linking it to the existing Louisville trail system.

Projects listed as second priorities will not receive much attention for several years, Robson said. If an opportunity arises to work on it sooner, however, due to community involvement with funding and easements, they will jump on it, he added.

As the regional trails project moves forward, city of Boulder Bike and Pedestrian Planner Marni Ratzel, who worked on the Boulder County Regional Trails Committee, called the process, to date, exciting for several reasons.

?One is because of the synergy it’s creating on a regional level,? Ratzel said. ?Another reason is because we’re building a regional system that will help reduce barriers. One of the obstacles we hear is that people don’t feel they have a bike trail to use to commute. (With the proposed trails), we’re reducing that obstacle.?

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